A small gift comes in many ways
by KuroKitsuSan
Summary: Edward Elric has been missing for over a year, and it has been driving Roy insane on how. Then on a rainy day, he finds a strange golden cat with gold eyes and brings him home...
1. A rather 'small' cat

**I have decided to take a little breather from ' If it's for you, I'll do anything'. I got the story kind of going, but I misplaced the rough draft of it, so I decided to type up this one I wrote forever ago. I promise when I find the papers, I'll start it again.**

**~Kuro**

-  
A Small Gift Comes in Many Ways

Chapter 1- A rather 'small' cat

Roy Mustang was walking on the sidewalk, alone, going home in the strange downpour of rain in March. Not that it mattered. It had basically been a year of rain since Edward Elric had gone missing. Nobody knows where he went; all they know is that it was like magic: He was there one minute, and then he wasn't. Roy continued walking down the sidewalk without real thought. He was too focused on the case of Ed again. That's all he has been focused on. Ed, Ed, Ed. All the time. Non-stop. It started worrying the crew he worked with. Riza even asked him to take a little break, but he refused. ' Not until I find Ed! I won't stop until I have found him.' He said to her, and continued to work hard to find his missing subordinate.

He was jerked away from his thoughts when he saw armor huddled in an alleyway. Roy immediately knew it was Alphonse Elric, Ed's younger brother. He walked towards the young bodiless boy.

" Nice seeing you again, Alphonse." Roy greeted.

The armor didn't look up, and didn't reply. Instead, he was looking into a box. He seemed to be covering it from the rain. Roy was confused at first, until he heard Alphonse mumble something worriedly.

" Don't die… don't die… don't die…" He repeated over and over.

Roy was even more confused, that is, until he heard a quiet 'Mew…' noise coming from the box. If Alphonse had an expression, he probably would have been overjoyed. He turned his armor head towards Roy and happily called him over. Roy walked over and saw a golden cat in the box, with a slight red tinge to it's fur on it's back. " Is it a kitten?" He asked. " It's so tiny."

The cat hissed at Roy, but nuzzled up at Alphonse's touch. Roy took note that it seemed to love Alphonse. " I don't think so. He's smaller than most cats, but I've seen a lot of kittens. He doesn't have the characteristics of one. I think he's just small."

With that, the golden fuzzball hissed. " He was caught under a car. I helped him with the small amount of Alkehestry I learned from Mei. But, I could only stop the bleeding. I was quite surprised to see him so energetic after what happened though!" Alphonse burst out. Roy smiled, but frowned once more.

" You can't keep him, can you…"

Alphonse stayed quiet for a while. It was several minutes until he said something. " I can't. That's why I am trying so hard to make sure he is okay." Then a thought struck him. " COLONEL! Can you take car of him? Just until he is okay enough to go back?"

Roy was shocked. " I…I don't know Alphonse… I mean I—" He was stopped short by Alphonse's worried tone. Roy couldn't say no to that. " Alright. I'll take him. But only until he is well enough to be on his own, okay?"

Alphonse nodded and picked up the small creature, and handed him to Roy. Roy took the cat and looked at him more closely. He had gold fur that was the color of honey. His eyes were the same, but they had the gleam of determination in them. If he didn't know any better, it would seem as if this cat was the animal version of Ed.

Shaking his head, he covered the animal in his coat, gave silent good-byes to Alphonse, and they headed off in separate directions.

Roy removed his coat and dropped it on the floor. The little cat fell out of the inside pocket and landed with a _thump_ on the hard ground. Scurrying away from Roy, the golden puffball ran into the kitchen and sat by the fridge, as if indicating that he was hungry. Taking note, Roy went to the kitchen and found some fish from the other night, and gave it to the cat.

The little stray ate it hungrily. Roy poured some milk into a small bowl and set it by the golden terror. Almost immediately, the little cat hissed and ran from it. That alerted Roy. " It's almost as if you're…" Roy stared, but stopped. " That's impossible."

He picked up the bowl and dumped out the milk. Roy walked up the staircase in his house and entered his library. He stopped when he heard tiny yells coming from the little cat, who was struggling to get up the steps.

Laughing, Roy walked back down and picked up the small burden. Strangely, the cat shut up. It had been so loud the entire way home, and suddenly shut up. That made Roy curious as to who this creature was, cause it wasn't acting like a normal animal. Forgetting about it, he sat the cat down at the table he was sitting at in his library and continued to look through files of Edward Elric again and again, even though his work hours were over with. This case just wasn't something he could forget about. It was his subordinate; his responsibility. He can't just forget this boy! He meant to much to him. Wait…

Did he just admit Ed was important to him?

He was taken away from his thoughts by the cat sitting on the files, as if reading them. He looked at the pet's face and gasped. The cat looked like he was in disbelief at the context. The cat used his paw to move the files around and read more. Roy was in awe. Rubbing his eyes, he decided he hasn't gotten a lot of sleep and blamed on the fact he could be sleep deprived. He pet the cat gently on the head, starting from the top, down to the tail area, and told him it was time to sleep. The cat just glared at the files, not even acknowledging Roy. It seemed as if this case disturbed him somehow. But Roy didn't understand, and had to intention to at that moment. Before he picked up the cat, he could have sworn he heard Ed's voice saying ' It's not true…'. But then again, he was sleep deprived. He picked up the cat, got in bed, and fell asleep with the golden creature next to him, without even changing or getting something to eat.

The next morning, Roy woke up. But when he sat up, he felt something heavier on the side of the bed where the cat was laying. He turned to look, but instead of the cat curled up there like last night, it was a familiar blonde haired boy with a braid and he was in a long red coat.

Roy yelled as loud as he could after waking up. " ED?"

**I thought that it was a cute little quick story when I reread it earlier while I was cleaning. A little couple chapter story. **

**Feed the author- leave a comment**


	2. You're back

**A SORRY! I KIND OF NEGLECTED IT! Both of the fics actually. I've been so BUSY with school, I haven't had any time! Sorry sorry! Well…. Hopefully you can put aside the anger and be happy again with this chapter… ^^;**

**Enjoy my readers!**

**~Kuro  
**-

A Small Gift Comes in Many Ways

Chapter 2- You're back

Roy stared dumbfounded at the young boy in his bed, curled up in a ball like the little cat was. It was Roy's scream that alerted the boy and woke him up, which was followed by him falling off the bed with his frightened jump at the noise. Roy blinked a couple times, and tried clearing his mind. ' _Okay, so the cat I took home was looking through files, hates milk, hissed whenever we called him tiny, and was curled up in my bed next me. And now suddenly Edward Elric, who has been missing for a year, is where he was…' _ Roy flopped down back on the mattress and thought about it over and over. It just wasn't processing.

" YO! BASTARD! YOU COULDN'T HAVE LET ME SLEEP!" Ed yelled. Roy stared at him.

" Sorry…" he replied. Ed just stared blankly at him.

" You can understand me?" Ed said confused, yet happy.

Roy nodded. " Why wouldn't I?"

Ed thought about it. " Well, a lot of people have been ignoring me." He flopped on the floor and sighed. " It's been pissing me off. When I tried to hit them, I fell into a small puddle. I was all ' Hey! What's going on! Why are you so much bigger anyway?' But they wouldn't listen and just said ' Oh! You are so cute! I want to take you home.' But I always ran from them." He paused, then looked at Roy. " Why is it that you can hear me?"

Roy blinked. " You look human to me." The minute he said that, Ed choked on air. He stared wide-eyed at Roy for the longest time until yelling happily.

" I LOOK HUMAN? REALLY?"

Roy nodded and handed him a mirror. Ed's smile vanished the minute he saw himself. " But I have…" He touched the top of his head and twitched. " Ears…" He looked behind him and saw a tail moving side to side. " And a tail…"

Sighing, Roy took back the mirror and set it on the table next to him. Ed looked so helpless right now. He wouldn't even believe that the boy in front of him is the Edward Elric that has been missing for a year. He wouldn't believe it's the boy he has been searching for non-stop, finding no clues and having him suddenly show up in his bed the next day. But for some reason he did. Maybe it was because he knows that attitude from anywhere, or the height.

The height…

That's the easiest way to prove it's really him.

" Well then… Even though you have changed a lot, your height is the same as always." Roy remarked, then quickly added " Shrimp."

Ed exploded. " I AM NOT SMALL! IT'S NOT MY FAULT IM LIKE THIS ANYWAY YOU BASTARD! WHO ARE YOU EVEN CALLING SO SMALL HE IS THE SIZE OF A SPECK OF DUST ON AN ANT ANYWAY!"

Roy smirked. " You obviously." If someone could die from a glare, Roy would have died a very painful death by the way Ed was looking at him. Roy could've sworn he heard Ed mumble a ' bastard'. Eventually Ed's glare died down and was replaced with a worried look. Roy winced at that face.

" How has Al been doing?" Ed struggled to say.

" I saw him last night, he was playing with you I guess. I don't know what he was doing. He said you got injured and he helped you with the little bit of Alkehestry he knew from that Mei girl. He didn't say much after though. I hadn't seen him until last night." Roy sighed.

Ed smiled a little. " He must've been with granny and Winry."

Roy didn't smile though. He knew Ed was sad. He is still missing to everyone, and not only that, but he was still a cat that looks human now. He had ears and a tail. He isn't a human anymore. That's when Roy asked Ed, " What happened when you disappeared?"

Ed stared at him for a while, and huffed. " The alchemist we were fighting…"

" Isaiah Sanders…" Roy said.

Ed nodded. " Well, I found out what his powers were. And now you know too. It was supposed to be directed to you, but when I blocked… it hit me. And I turned into a cat."

" But where did you go?"

" The blast was so big I guess that it shot me up and I landed on the building. I tried to get off of the building, but by the time I made it to the edge, a gust of wind blew, pushed me off of the edge, and I fell on the street, and a car ran over me. It was so painful…" Ed shivered. " Al saved me…"

Roy sighed. " I see…" Ed glanced at him, and saw the raven-haired man had his head in his hands, which were on his forehead, and held his head up as he was hunched over. Feeling bad, Ed tried to change the subject.

" O-on the bright side, I learned a lot of secrets that can help the military and so it wasn't that bad. Ah-"

Ed stopped. '_ DAMN! I just said it was bad a little bit then! But why does he feel bad?' _

" Co—" Ed started, but was interrupted.

" I'm sorry."

"Eh?" Ed blinked.

" I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you alone for a year. It must've been horrible." Roy said, not looking up. He couldn't even look Ed in the eyes.

" Th-that's not entirely true Colonel! It was kind of bad, I admit. But it was nice to get away from the military shit, you know? There isn't any reason to be sorry. You're such an idiot. Why even think about how hard it was for me anyway-" Ed said, but was cut short. He didn't think he would ever hear those words from Roy's mouth.

" I was worried." Roy said, now looking up. His face was expressionless, but his eyes told a different story.

Ed stared back. What should he say now? There was no way Roy is going to back off now. He's just going to keep saying ' Sorry. Sorry. Sorry!' Huffing, he got up off the wooden floor and sat beside Roy, who looked at Ed confused. " Look. You don't need to worry, Colonel. I'm fine. Even if I am not human right now, it doesn't mean I am not here right now. I'm alive. That's all that counts at the moment right?"

Roy nodded and smiled. Ed grinned and got up. His tail swayed back and forth, ears twitching at the slightest sounds of movement. He looked back to Roy, who now was closer to Ed than ever. So close that when Ed turned around, the tip of his nose was barely touching the Flame's shirt. Ed blushed a little and backed up. " I'm hungry. And I don't wanna hear you say ' how about cat food' you bastard."

Roy laughed. " Fine, fine I won't. Besides, after a year with nothing but squishy smelly food and raw rodents, I bet some human food like _milk_ would taste good."

Ed glared. " You bastard!" he yelled and walked out of Roy's room. " How about eating out?" Ed suggested.

Roy shook his head. " I would love to. But I am afraid I can't. I have to be at work early." He looked at the time. " I'm alittle delayed already because of what happened this morning." He said smiling at the newly found alchemist. Ed just looked down at his boots and mumbled an 'okay'.

" I could help you at work since I can't do anything in my state now." Ed suggested. Roy looked bewildered.

" Ed, what do you mean…"

" I can't…" he stopped, breathed in and continued as if he found the words he already had but didn't want to say. " I can't use alchemy anymore."

Roy just stared at him. He had so many questions, but only a few were answered. And they weren't even the important ones. Before he could ask, Ed gave a hypothesis. " I think it's cause of my new form. If the stupid alchemist hadn't done this, I would still be able to transmute! But… something about this form I think prohibits me from doing so."

" Oh…" Roy removed his shirt baring his chest, and put on the white collared short that goes under his military coat. He already had his pants on, which Ed was thankful for. They walked down the stairs together and stopped by the door. Ed grabbed Roy's coat on the coat-rack and handed it to Roy. Roy nodded and put it on.

" I'm sorry, but I don't want you to come with me." Roy said finally. Ed looked confused and Roy continued. " I don't want people staring at you by how you look, but I also don't want people to question you about what happened on your little knowledge you know of what happened. Not only that, but there is a murderer on the loose and I don't want you to get in the middle of it. It'll be the death of me if he catches you when you just came back. I'm sorry, but can you just wait for me here?"

Ed looked at Roy with sad eyes. " But…" _What if he kills you Colonel? _He thought, catching himself before he thought the words out loud.

Roy set a hand on Ed's head, gesturing that everything would be okay. " I will come back. I won't leave you. Promise." He said, holding out his left pinky. Ed looked at it, then back at Roy. He looked at his auto-mail hand. He clenched it and put it back down at his side. Roy looked at the boy puzzled. " No… Not my auto-mail. It'll give you bad luck, like it's given us bad luck…"

Roy grabbed Ed's left shoulder and his right auto-mail wrist. He shook him roughly. " Don't you EVER say that again! I know you and all of you. I take care of you and ALL of you. Don't go saying that it's bad luck, because your auto-mail, Ed, is what makes you unique. And I know it hurts sometimes, but you grin and bear it like you have done for a lot of things!" Ed was wide-eyed. Roy decided to talk more gently. " I'm not saying to bear it all of the time, but don't make people worry a lot. You can tell me or Alphonse and you know it. I'm always here, and Alphonse is always by your side."

" But I don't want anyone to worry over me because of my mistakes."

" Then don't tell a lot of people. And if you don't want your brother to worry, then just tell me. I don't give a shit if you refuse, I will make you tell me. And that's a promise. So give me your auto-mail, and remember that it's what makes you Edward Elric the FullMetal alchemist."

Ed looked at him with glossy eyes and rested his forehead on his superiors chest. He mumbled a silent ' thank you' and backed up. " You promised you will come home and I expect you to do so." He said, pointing a finger at his superior. Roy held up his hands in a mock defeat.

" I will."

And with that, he was out the door, leaving Ed home alone, thinking about the speech he was just given.


	3. Results and its not good

**MOTHER FU—  
IAGSFDTYUSIKJHDGTFYJ. I'M SORRY. PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. I REALLY DIDN'T MEAN TO LEAVE FANFICTION FOR A LONG….LONG TIME. BUT! Hopefully, you can forgive a Crow (cause if you say Kuro fast it sounds like crow :D) like me and read this chapter, which will probably suck cause I have 15 minutes to write as much as I can…  
ENJOY!  
~Crow (new nickname, cool huh. Crows are so cool and majestic. Free to do whatever they want… /continues to babble on about crows…)**

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as the colonel walked through the door into the darkness of the 5 AM morning. Looking down at his auto-mail, he clenched his right hand in his left and held both hands up to his chest. "Auto-mail isn't supposed to feel heat..." Ed sighed, "…but then why does my hand feel so warm after him touching it?"

He walked to the kitchen and decided to make breakfast. Ed opened up the fridge and looked at what Roy had. _Eggs, milk, lettuce, alcohol… god damn it colonel! You need to shop more! _Ed thought. Then he got an idea. Why not shop **for** the colonel? It couldn't hurt. He had a hood on his jacket and he could tuck his tail in his pants. It all worked out perfectly. Ed grabbed some money and headed towards the door, opened it, locked it, and shut it.

It was a good idea, minus the fact that the murderer was lurking around and about.

"Colonel, please sign these documents. You've done NOTHING but look at Edward's missing file report lately and you're getting NOTHING done!" Riza stated. Roy just ignored her.

"Havoc! Get me all documents on Edward Elric. As well as every case known on an alchemist Isaiah Sanders!" Roy ordered. Riza and Havoc both stared at him confused. Roy pouted. "And might I ask _why_ you are staring at me like that?"

Havoc and Riza shook their heads and ran to the document file room to look for every records on the two alchemists. Roy sat in his chair thinking of different possibilities on what could change Ed back to normal. Apparently Roy was thinking out loud and for a long time because it was 7 AM when havoc and Riza left, it was now 3 PM when they got back and asked what he was mumbling on about. Roy jumped when he heard them and quickly dismissed the topic. "I'm sorry. I would tell you if I could, but I can't jump to any conclusions and get our hopes up over something that might die."

Riza and Havoc just stared at him with a worried expression but said no more. "Sir, that alchemist you told us to look for. All of his records say that he is a rare type of alchemist. He turns people into breeds of animals depending on the animal they hate the most. He applied for the state military exam, but the Fuhrer told him his power was worthless and so was he. According to the file…" Riza said handing Roy the document, "…he wants revenge on every state alchemist who has his spot. Where he wants to be is in every state alchemist's shoes right now, sir."

"Not only that, but his power can kill if he wanted it to. I don't understand it myself, but it said that if he let loose a strong enough alchemic power it can put a lot of animal genes into the body, and the longer the animal genes are in a human, it can start to deteriorate the human cell membranes and cause the human body to fall apart seeing as human genes and animal genes cant co-exist in the same body. But even if the power wasn't strong, the same outcome seems to happen to every person who has been affected." Havoc blew a cloud of smoke from his cigarette. "This guy is bad news."

Roy stared at the documents in disbelief. If this guy can make people die from his powers, and Ed got hit from one, and every single victim of this has died, the Ed surely will-

Roy slammed his fists on the desk. "**DAMN IT! THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED HIM TO DEAL WITH RIGHT WHEN I FOUND HIM!**" Havoc dropped his cigarette and Riza dropped her files. Both mouths were open and stared at him.

"Sir..what—" Riza started but was cut off.

"I found Ed. He was turned into a cat, but he is semi-human now. He has cat ears and a tail. But seeing this information, it's certain he can die until we find a cure."

**HNNG SORRY. BUT I GTG NOW. I'LL TYPE MORE TOMORROW. I SWEAR. I PROMISE DX**

**Feed the author, leave a comment.**


	4. Near death experience

**HNNG A GUHNNGA! Well, at least I have more time to type this time :D And I reread the last chapter. So many mistakes xD Btw, I'm telling you now, this story is like its own story with the characters of FMA. I tend to do that sometimes xD But it's a good read, so enjoy (?) I guess…**

**ON WITH THE SHOW!  
~Crow**

A Small Gift Comes in Many Ways

Chapter 3- Near death experience  
**  
**"Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist). Registered at age 12. State Alchemist. Clapping Transmutation; Auto-mail. Subordinate to Roy Mustang (Flame Alchemist). Status: Currently missing." Riza read. "Colonel, you sure it's him? I mean he's been gone for so long."

"God damn it! Why try to doubt me! I know what I saw! I saw him and we talked to each other. His auto-mail, his hair, his height, his looks, EVERYTHING! It's him!" Roy defended. There's no way he's going insane. Ed really was there!

"Sir…what happened to Ed? Did this Sanders guy find him?" Havoc asked, but then it clicked for both the lieutenants. "Wait, weren't you and the little shortie fighting this alchemist a year ago?" Havoc asked.

Roy nodded, fingernails digging in the red oak desk. His anger was subsiding, but his fear was growing larger by the second. Thought and thoughts were pouring in, and it wasn't good. '_What if Ed dies in front of me? Would I be able to keep my sanity, or would I do something stupid..'. _Roy thought, but he quickly dismissed the thoughts of his subordinate dying. '_Things causing his death won't help getting him back to normal. Think of how to help. Don't stop thinking!' _Roy told himself.

The 3 thought for hours, but nothing seemed reasonable. "Sir, let's admit it." Havoc sighed. "We need Ed's help for this. He knows more about this, and I have a feeling he didn't tell you everything he knows. I think he's keeping something from you." Roy looked up and sighed. Havoc continued, "Ed also has the secrets in his look, if we can get other alchemists to look at him, maybe…"

"I don't want him to be seen by others. Let's just go and ask him shit, okay? He's at my place." Roy finally said.

(This is a time break between Roy and Ed… I swear if the dashes don't appear this time, I'm so going to…)

The entire time he was walking he felt like someone was following him. And he knew it too, because each time his tail would frizz and his ears would twitch. Ed finally arrived at the store, bought what he wanted, and headed back to Roy's house. But something made him stop in his tracks. He decided to use him animal capabilities and sniff the air. An unfamiliar scent. "That's not good, little alchemist." Said a voice. "Seems you found me."

Ed wasn't sure who it was, but his instincts said not to go near the alleyway. Of course, being Ed he ignored them and headed into the dark alleyway. "Anyone here? Hello—" but was cut off. Ed grunted and jumped back.

An object was pulled out of his abdomen, and barely went in. _Shit, if I hadn't have jumped back in time I surely would've died…Crap!_ Then he remembered what Roy said.

"SHIT! Roy told me there was a murderer out! I forgot!" Ed roared.

Ed ran out of the alleyway, clutching his stomach and got to a payphone. He didn't have the strength to fight back, he barely had the strength to run let alone fight for him life! He was just a cat a minute ago. He pulled the change from the store out of his pocket and inserted it into the payphone, and started dialing for the receptionist.

"_Hello, Central City HQ. Receptionist Desk."_

"Connect me to Roy Mustang. Hurry!" Ed demanded.

"_Code please?"_

Ed cursed and gave her the code only used between him and Roy. "_One moment please._" It didn't take long until Riza picked up.

"_Riza Hawkeye, Colonel Roy Mustang's office."_

"Tell the colonel his pet cat is in danger! The cat is in the alleyway square! Hurry! There's not much time left…" Ed mumbled, and then went unconscious finally from his wound.

( SERIOUSLY. IF THIS LINE DOESN'T APPEAR... GDI HOW DO YOU GUYS ON FANFIC GET THE LINE TO APPEAR ON FANFIC!)

"_Hurry! There's not much time left…" _and a loud bang was heard from the phone hitting the ground, and a thump of a body hitting the pavement.

"Colonel…" Riza started, but Roy was already flying out the door.

"DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT! ED I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO OUTSIDE!" he yelled running to the alleyway square. He found Armstrong, and they both headed to save Ed.

"Colonel! The red jacket over there, by the payphone!" Armstrong pointed out.

Roy gasped and ran as fast as he could. But the closer he went to the body, the more he could see. Blood, Ed's body in a pool of blood. A knife. A knife in Ed's back. A man standing above Ed grinning. Roy's eyes widened and he snapped as hard as he could, unleashing strong typhoons of flames to the man, making sure to not hit Ed. The man dodged, and ran back into the alleyway yelling out a few words that hinted Roy of the alchemist he was looking for.

"Colonel Roy Mustang! Even though you found him doesn't mean he's saved. Isaiah will kill Ed, but not until using him for his purpose. You and the rest of Headquarters will feel the wrath of us, just you wait!" and he was gone.

Roy ran over to Ed and pulled the knife out. "Good, it didn't do much damage, but this blood loss…" Roy turned to Armstrong, his chest and lap now covered in blood from holding the bleeding alchemist. "Armstrong! Call the emergency paramedics! Now!"

Armstrong saluted and ran to the payphone. Roy tended to Ed's wounds as best as he could. He applied pressure to the wounds to make sure the bleeding wouldn't continue. He held Ed up under his chin and hugged him. "Damn it Ed… I swear you're trying to worry me… you fool."

**Blah blah blah I don't like this chapter. I feel like I rushed it and there's not much description. PLUS ITS SHORT AGAIN. SEE THIS IS WHY I'M AN ARTIST, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE WILLPOWER FOR FREAKING DOUJINSHI! Hnng…**

**Anyway, love it? Hate it? Should I die for writing a horrid chapter like this? LET ME KNOW~**

**Feed the author, leave a comment.**


	5. Rules are set let the games begin

**DUDE. FUCKING LINES DIDN'T SHOW UP. IM PISSED. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HAPPIEST DAY.** "Someone:  
oh my god! *A*...hope you continue with this~! I loved cat Ed :3  
can I use your fanfic for a doujinshi,please?"  
**YES! BY ALL MEANS! DO SO! As long as you credit, GO FOR IT! And I swear if you don't credit, I will be very pissed that I let you do so, okay? So please credit. I worked hard to think of this story, and I don't want it stolen from me since it was made by my imagination. Also show it to me with a link.**

Ah, anyway…I guess since I'm already here I should type up chapter 5… by the way the chapter title is kind of hinting on the whole plot…so

**~Crow**

**._._._._.  
**  
A Small Gift Comes in Many Ways

****Chapter 5- Rules are set; let the games begin between life and death (yes this is the entire chapter title just so you know)

It felt nice. This calming feeling with no sounds or sensations. He opened his eyes. Where was he? Another dimension? The border between life and death? His inner mind? Wherever he was, his ears and tail were still with him. But he didn't have clothes on. What the hell was up with that?

Ed walked on and on in this place. All that was there were tiny glowing orbs that contained nothing in them; just white and floating in the air. He touched one, and it popped. When it popped nothing came out of it, like it just vanished. "Where am I…"

It felt like hours that he was in this grey tinged area. It felt heavenly and soothing. He didn't want to leave anytime soon. It's like it's relieving his stress and pressure from life. He rubbed his eyes, and realized he had feeling in this body; his **WHOLE** body. His auto-mail was no longer there. "Wherever I am, it's not reality. Where did I…"

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE WON'T WAKE UP, KNOCS!" _Ed's ears twitched. Was that Roy's voice?

"_I have no control on what his mind does, especially in his…condition, Roy." _That must've been the Knocs guy. Didn't he go to war with the colonel during the Ishvalen Extermination?

"What's going on? They aren't here are they?" Ed wondered. He called Roy's name, but no one replied. Only more yelling.

"_If he doesn't wake up soon…I'll…" _Roy's voice began to crack. Ed started to worry. 'Won't wake up'? Is he asleep? Is this REM or something? Where on earth WAS he?

Ed started to run like he was running to the ends of the earth. There was no way out. "DAMN IT! WHERE AM I! I WANT OUT NOW! LET ME SEE HIM!" Ed yelled. He fell on his knees and sat down. "Let me out…" he pleaded, but he never left.

._._._._.

"Colonel calm down!" Riza pleaded. Roy came to his senses and sat on the bed where Ed was laying.

The motionless blonde, who was perfectly healthy minus a tiny wound on his back, and a scrape on his stomach, looked as if he was asleep. But even his breathing stopped. His heartbeat was normal though, and it's been like his for a few days now. "Next time I see Sanders or that murderer I'm going to set them on fire right then and there." Roy promised.

"Colonel, don't get too far ahead of yourself. They probably did this to Ed. And if they did then they know how to redo it. Just hope that Ed will get better soon." Riza entrusted, and Roy calmed down.

"I didn't think of that…" Roy sighed. "But I can't shake the feeling Ed is somewhere far away, beyond our reach…"

In that moment, Roy heard a ring. Not a normal phone ring or a ring of a bell. But the ring of a soul. It's hard to explain, but it sounded like a call of help from something nonexistent; something only you can hear if you're chosen. And that's what Roy heard.

Roy got up and walked to the side of the bed where Ed head was. He moved his hand and moved hair out of his face. "You better come back soon, or I'll roast you. Understand?" He mumbled with dread. He didn't mean it, but he felt as if it needed to be said. He wanted Ed back, and he couldn't explain the desire for Ed's voice, or his touch.

Pulling his hand back, and he remembered how it felt to touch Ed's auto-mail the first morning Ed was back and they discovered the truth. It was warm. "_But auto-mail has no warmth to it…so why…" _Roy thought. If it was what he thought, he would never forgive himself. What kind of life does he have where he goes and dates women, then all of a sudden when Ed comes back, he finds himself attracted to him. There's no WAY he could love Ed…right?

Thinking, he walked out of the room, wishing he could stay by Ed's side the whole night, and headed back to central for the stacks of paperwork assigned to him. 

._._._._.

****Ed sulked. How long has he been here now? A week? A year? An eternity? He can't even sleep. This place won't let him. Besides, it feels like his energy is draining with each passing second. He wanted out. "I feel caged. Someone…find me and let me out already god damn it." He mumbled.

_You want out?_

Ed jumped. "What the hell…"

_You really want out?_

"Okay. Who are you?" Ed asked unsteadily. Why has the atmosphere become to dreadful?

_Are you sure it's what you want? Why do you want out?_

"I don't need to answer that! Tell me who you are!" Ed raged.

_I can't answer any of your questions. Just answer mine. Are you sure you want out, Fullmetal Alchemist?_

Ed stood where he was. How did this voice know who he was? Then again, this 'thing' might know why he's here, where here is, and how to get out. "Yes, I am sure."

_Why? Is there a reason? I can recall you liking it here because it was peaceful. Are you dissatisfied with something?_

"Yes. I want to see someone. I want to see him. But he isn't here. And there's something up with this place…" Ed shivered. What was this place doing to him? It was calming before, but now it feels evil.

_Have you noticed? This realm. Have you noticed what it's doing?_

"All I know is that it doesn't feel right. Tell me what's going on." Ed demanded.

_Life force. Your life force is being drained. It's the work of Isaiah Sanders. I work for him, but I am forever stuck here. This is the result of your life force being drained completely. I loved him, and so I did everything he wanted. I do not regret it, but you will. _The voice paused. _You have someone you love don't you? He's the person you want to see?_

Ed didn't answer.

_I'll let you out. I'd like to see what will happen when something doesn't go according to plan._

Before Ed had the chance to reply, the realm fell apart and Ed found himself in a bed. Breathing heavily, he looked to his right arm and saw auto-mail. His left leg was auto-mail too. Everything was back to normal. He sat up and looked to the left. There was a letter sitting in the chair. Ed opened it and read it.

"Colonel." Ed said, "What are you implying in this letter, you bastard?"

**YES! I loved typing this chapter. Finally gets into the beginning of what's going to happen. But yes, so comment, review, type and get those fingers moving because I really love this story and want you all to read it! **

**Feed the author, leave a comment~**


	6. The Letter

_**TsundereCrow had finally, after several months of being at sea, reached her desk away from the Sea of Schoolwork. "Finally…" She sighed, "I can go to SLEEP!"  
Just as she wormed her way into her soft, warm, comfortable silk sheets, her mother barged in yelling "DON'T YOU HAVE TO UPDATE ON THAT FANFICTION SITE?"  
Glaring at her mother, she groaned, rolled out of bed, and began typing…**_

**._._._._.**

A Small Gift Comes in Many Ways

Chapter 6 – The Letter

So much for the calming Friday nights. He drank his 4th shot. _Continuing this route, I shouldn't be able to remember tonight…_ Roy thought. He was too busy working to fix Ed. But nothing worked. And it didn't help that the little brat is unconscious. He paid for his 5th shot. Buy, stare, drink, set down, repeat. Same thing 5 times in a row. And this was beginning to get boring. Roy paid for the sixth shot, drank it, got his coat and put it on, and left.

It was cold. Strangely cold for the end of March. But it felt comforting. It's like when the cold wind blew, it erased all feeling from his body and mind. But maybe that was just the alcohol taking affect. He continued to walk down the street and found himself at Knocs's house, where the little blonde alchemist was stationed for the past few days. There was no need to question why he was here though. Even though his feet seemed to take him here on his own, he knew why. Although he would never admit it out loud, he was truly worried for his alchemist.

He opened the front door. "Unlocked? Knocs must not be asleep yet." Roy said, and continued up the stairs to the blonde's room.

As he approached, he heard voices. He stopped in the doorway, wide-eyed.

"You sure you're okay, Edward?" Knocs asked.

"Yes, but I want to see the bastard. Where is he?" Ed said. Apparently he didn't see Roy in the doorway yet. But was did notice Ed looked horrible. No wonder Knocs was worried alittle.

"He's probably sleeping at home. Or at work still. It is 3AM."

Roy looked at the time. He managed to pipe up, "So it is."

Both Knocs and Ed looked at Roy. Knocs had a confused look on his face, while Ed had a happy face that he didn't even knew he wore. Roy looked at Ed's face and laughed. "What's THAT face for Fullmetal?"

Ed huffed. "You just came right on time, that's what you asshole!" Ed said and puffed out his cheeks.

Roy walked over to the bed, and Ed's expression changed. "Okay, now that he's here, I want to tell you what happened when I was out for…how many days"

"Five." Knocs replied. Ed shivered and nodded

"At first, where I was was pleasant. Silent, calm… and I had no auto-mail. That was my first clue to it not being real." Ed sighed, and looked at the two men. Their expressions were confusion. He continued, "Then I heard you, colonel, yelling 'What do you mean he won't wake up' to Mr. Knocs. I didn't get it, but that was the second clue. If I won't wake up, I must've been sleeping. So I decided to run to the edge of the world or something. But I couldn't get out. It felt like I was in there for years. Eventually I gave up and screamed." He looked at Roy. "I screamed your name."

Roy looked at him weird, and then realized it probably had something to do with that ring he heard. But still, why him of all people? Ed continued, "Don't get the wrong idea. You usually save me from shit, so it was habit." Looking down be paused, thinking of what to say next. "The place I was in…it seemed like when Gluttony ate Ling, Envy and me. But this one was worse I think. It felt like it was draining my life out of me. I felt weak."

For hours they were talking; Ed describing the dimension he was in with the orbs and stuff. He talked about how there was no sound and no feeling unless he wanted it. That it felt heavenly and soothing. "But then when I started to freak out, a voice started talking. She sounded nice and calm. But she said that I was one of the few that noticed that something was happening to me."

"Oh?" Roy mumbled. "And what was that?"

"My life force was being drained. I was going to die." Ed said boldly. Roy and Knocs stared at him.

"Life force…? What…" Roy questioned.

"She said that it was draining my life energy, and that if I stayed any longer I would forever be stuck there as one of Isaiah's experiments."

Roy twitched. "It was…his doing…"

Ed looked up, now aware that Roy had started to get up slowly and head toward the door. Without knowing it, his instincts took over and he blocked the door. "You don't plan to find him, right Colonel?"

Roy huffed. He grabbed Ed's wrist and walked out the door with him. Ed was yelling for his release and hitting Roy, with the occasional bite. Roy's grip was getting tighter, and eventually got so tight that it made Ed yelp. Realizing he was holding Ed's wrist too tight, Roy let go. Ed glared at him. "The hell you fucker? What got into YOU'RE pants?" Ed said rubbing his wrist.

With a sigh, Roy looked at Ed. "It was his doing, right?" Those eyes again. The eyes of anger, but helplessness. Roy only ever showed these eyes when he was in a situation where he couldn't do much but sit around and watch.

"Well…DUH. What on EARTH makes you think it WASN'T his doing?" Ed said, giving him the 'Are you an idiot or what?' look.

Roy shot Ed a glare. "WELL EXCUSE ME THEN. It's not my fault for worrying."

Ed stared at Roy. "You were worried? About me?"

At first Roy thought Ed would have this 'Oh colonel…If I had known…I wouldn't have…' look. And then he would just hug Ed and say 'It's all right FullMetal…'  
'Oh colonel…'  
'Oh Ed'  
And then they'd…

…But he was wrong. Ed busted up laughing, rolled into a ball. He was crying from laughing so hard. Roy felt embarrassed and pissed. A strange combination. "Why on EARTH are you laughing, squirt?"

"Be…Because you're worried over something a small as this." Ed choked between words. Never in his WHOLE life did he think he would laugh this hard at something so small.

Through a crack in his eye he saw a very pissed off Roy. Roy walked out the door into the cold air of the night outside. Ed followed him. "H-Hey! Colonel…! I didn't mean for it to be taken rudely!"

"Whatever. You should rest."

Ed threw a rock at Roy's head. "THAT HURT." Roy cried, turning around and rubbing his head.

"I've been resting for several days straight. I feel refreshed. And besides, now that we're alone there is something I would love to discuss with you." Ed said emotionless, tapping his foot; his tail swaying back and forth…back and forth…back and forth…

"Yes?"

"You left this letter?" Holding up an envelope, Ed had a skeptical look. "Saying you were allying with Sanders?"

Roy stared in disbelief. Why on EARTH would a letter like that be written, and especially about him! "Ed you know I wouldn't do that. I'm trying to find this bastard to KILL him. There's no way I'd write that. How do you know it's from me anyway?"

Ed opened up the letter and showed it to Roy.

"Dear Fullmetal,  
I'm sorry to tell you this, but I am allying with Isaiah Sanders. I am not sure of his plan entirely, but I know that I am interested. He said that you are only a tiny part of his research, and so I am going to help him get you. If this has caused you any inconvenience, than my sincere apologies. But I have to help him.

Roy Mustang"  
Ed read him the letter, and pointed to his signature. Roy couldn't believe it. It WAS his handwriting, but who wrote it. He knew Ed didn't believe the letter, but he also knew Ed didn't believe him. Roy's tone was too hesitant to be reassuring. But how could Roy help that if he was confused?

"Ed I'm serious…"

"So am I." Ed replied. "You better not be allying with that shithead. Or I'll kill you both."

And with that, Ed turned and walked back to Knocs house, not giving Roy a chance to defend himself.

**._._._._.**

_**Tsunderecrow falls out of her chair after uploading and crawls into her bed. The dreams of schoolwork and finals haunting her. But in 2 weeks it's over with and Winter Break comes.**_

_**Can't wait.**_

**YES. I know it took FOR. EVER. BUT here it is… It's not the best but oh well…  
It'll get better DX I swear.**

**Feed the author leave a comment~**


End file.
